“If we’re not producing it domestically, because we’re trying to achieve administratively what we don’t seem to want to pass legislatively, and our imports are going down and demand’s up, it sets the stages,” he told CNBC.

“I think we’ll be at $100 in the first quarter,” he added, “and there’s one-in-four chance we’ll take out the $147 highs before Memorial Day.”

Oil shot to a more than two-year high for a second day in a row Thursday, and some analysts said a run at $100 a barrel is inevitable, as one key OPEC member expressed little alarm over the rally.